State climatologist: Recent rains relieve drought in 9 counties

2010-10-07T20:50:36Z2010-10-07T20:50:36Z

COLUMBIA, SC (WCSC) - The South Carolina State Climatology Office says the heavy rains received last week have relieved drought conditions in nine counties. A passing cold front brought precipitation Sunday and Monday, and Tropical Storm Nicole brought more rain later in the week.

According to State Climatologist Hope Mizzell, September was set to be one of the driest on record, but the storms reversed that outlook. "For some locations, like Andrews, it went from being the second driest September (0.38") to the fifth wettest (10.18") in 50 years," said Mizzell. "The very dry conditions preceding the rain helped minimize the flooding impacts."